IT4Youth, a joint initiative between the Welfare Association, a Palestinian foundation, and the International Youth Foundation (IYF), will be awarded a US$30,000 prize for being a “best practice program”. It was one of ten projects selected -- from a total of 680 submitted to Dubai Municipality and UN Habitat (a United Nations agency) -- by an international jury in Nairobi to win the 2004 Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Improve the Living Environment.

The youth training initiative based in the West Bank seeks to create hope among disadvantaged, vulnerable young people and improve the learning skills, creativity, and employability of those between the ages of 10 and 24.

“The Award recognizes the real impact IT4Youth has had on over 5,000 young Palestinians over the last four years,” said David W. Hornbeck, President and CEO of IYF. “Despite immense obstacles, computer centers were built, new teaching methods were introduced in classrooms, students were trained and youth were placed in jobs. Young people tell us their lives were changed by the program and teachers tell us they have improved their teaching skills. We congratulate the Welfare Association and all the partners who have made this possible.”

Sana Alawneh, a 24-year-old trainee in IT4Youth’s course for Executive Secretaries, had never left her village of Jaba’ until she went to Ramallah city for training and an internship. “After leaving school I spent six years just sitting at home doing chores,” said Alawneh. “I hated my life and had no hopes for the future. This [IT4Youth] course has rescued me and transformed my life. These days I am full of self-confidence and inner energy.”

IT4Youth installed computer labs in 14 schools—with more than 20 computers in each lab. The project also provided the schools with an updated IT curriculum and training for students and teachers. As a result, over 4,000 young people, half of whom are girls, have been trained in computer-based information technology (IT).

Two community-based IT centers were built in the northern part of the West Bank and the city of Ramallah in 2003, which extend the reach of the program to out-of-school youth, both male and female. The centers provide for over 600 youth a safe place to explore their creativity, improve their computer-related vocational skills and find employment. One of the centers is an “Intel Computer Clubhouse,” the first of its kind in the Arab World, funded by the Intel Corporation. It is located near three refugee camps in the city of Ramallah.

First launched in April 2001, IT4Youth has received significant funding support from a four-year USAID grant. Additional funders included Intel Corporation, the Finnish Children and Youth Foundation, and individuals. Significant support was provided by the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Ministry of Local Government, as well as the eleven local village councils served by the program.

As of July 31, the Joint Community Services Council, formed to support the program, will take over full responsibility for the regional IT center in the village of Silet Ad Dhahr, and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education will take responsibility for the computer labs in schools. The Welfare Association retains responsibility for the Ramallah Intel Computer Clubhouse.

About the Welfare Association
The Welfare Association (WA) is a privately funded grantmaking foundation established in 1983 by a group of Palestinian businessmen and intellectuals to provide developmental and humanitarian support to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan. WA seeks to improve the quality of services of nongovernmental organizations and community organizations; to enhance culture, heritage and identity; and to build self-reliance and promote sustainable development. The organization is secular and non-partisan, serving people of all religious and political affiliations. For more information about the Welfare Association, visit www.welfareassociation.org.

About the International Youth Foundation
The International Youth Foundation (IYF) is dedicated to supporting programs that improve the conditions and prospects for young people where they live, learn, work, and play. Since its founding in 1990, IYF has worked with hundreds of companies, foundations, and non-governmental organizations to scale up existing programs and build long-term strategic partnerships. Currently operating in 60 countries and territories, IYF and its partners have helped millions of young people gain the life skills, training and opportunities critical to their success. For more information on IYF, visit www.iyfnet.org.

About USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program for the West Bank and Gaza is a central element of the U.S. government’s role in promoting regional stability and economic prosperity in the Middle East. For nearly 25 years, USAID has played an important role in assisting the Palestinian people and is now one of the largest U.S. foreign assistance programs in the world. Since 1993, Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza have benefited from more than $1 billion for economic growth programs, water resource development activities, democracy and governance programs, participant training, health and population programs, and activities to improve community services. USAID works in the following program areas: Economic Growth, Water Resource Development, Democracy and Governance, Maternal Child Healthcare, Community Services, Higher Education and Training and Emergency and Humanitarian Assistance. For more information on USAID in the West Bank and Gaza, visit www.usaid.gov/wbg.

About the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network and Intel Corporation
The Intel Computer Clubhouse Network is based on the Computer Clubhouse learning model created by the Museum of Science, Boston, and the MIT Media Lab in 1993. Together with the MIT Media Lab, the Museum of Science provides technical assistance, ongoing support, and programmatic guidance for Computer Clubhouses around the world. Intel provides financial, technical, career, and volunteer mentor support to proliferate the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network globally. Intel’s goal is to establish 100 Intel Computer Clubhouses by 2005. Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. For more information, visit www.intel.com/education.